***   We’re just back from enjoying a meal with a friend at the Market Street Grill in South Jordan and then going with her to see a very well-acted and well-sung performance nearby in Sandy at the Hale Centre Theatre of The Light in the Piazza.  I’ve said it before, but the Hale theaters are a Utah treasure.  And so, for that matter, are the Market Street restaurants.   We’ve seen a fair amount of live theater in... Read more

    ***   I think that I somehow failed to call your attention to this item, which appeared on the website of the Interpreter Foundation on Friday.  (You have my apologies.)  So here it is:   “Interpreting Interpreter: The Promise of Passover,” by Kyler Rasmussen This post is a summary of the article “Our Faithful Lord: Passover to Easter” by Rebecca Reynolds Lambert in Volume 51 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series... Read more

    ***   A really impressive project was done for the Primary kids in my ward today by Joseph Vancott, with whom — and this may perhaps be my one chance at fame — I served for a while in our ward Sunday School presidency:   “LDS Daily Shares Pictures of Incredible Replica Tomb for Primary Children”   He mentioned to us just before sacrament meeting that he had constructed a replica of Jerusalem’s Garden Tomb but, when I... Read more

    ***   Easter isn’t about family, as such, but it’s a great family day nonetheless.  Happily, we were able to spend this afternoon with one of our sons, my wife’s sister, and my father in law, who is now in his ninety-sixth year.   Before that, we attended our ward sacrament meeting, which was — not surprisingly — Easter-themed.  “The fundamental principles of our religion,” said the Prophet Joseph Smith, “are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets,... Read more

  ***   I wish everyone out there a wonderful Easter and a happy one.   Χριστός ἀνέστη!   Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!   In Greek, which is the original language of the New Testament — and in equivalent phrases in other languages influenced by Greek Orthodox usage — it is customary to greet one another on Easter Sunday with the phrase Khristos anesti!  To which the traditional response is Alithos anesti!   Christ is risen!   Truly, he is risen!   I... Read more

    ***   If you’re perhaps wondering why the news of the atonement and resurrection of Christ is so very, very important, you might watch this eight-minute segment from CNN.  If you can get through it without at least coming close to tearing up a bit, your heart is even harder than mine:   “Some Russians think images of these killed children are fake. Keilar shows they are not: In the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine, many... Read more

        ***   I had a good time last night delivering a lecture up in West Jordan, Utah, about the history and character of the famous Oberammergau Passion Play.  (Whether anybody in the audience had a good time or not is, of course, a quite separate question.)   By the way, I learned last night that six or perhaps even seven vacancies have opened up for the tour that I’m accompanying to Oberammergau (including a performance of... Read more

    ***   I’ve been deeply saddened to hear the news that Laura Harris Hales, the wife of Dr. Brian C. Hales, passed away this morning.  She had been ill for a relatively brief time with a grievous form of cancer.  She and Brian have been associates, allies, and friends for a long time.  She will be greatly missed by many.   ***   I’m just a bit behind in announcing them, but there are some new items on... Read more